Apparatus for shifting containers

ABSTRACT

A container is advanced by an arm or forked shifter guided by a reciprocating carriage or a crank driven by a motor. The drive motor is de-energized with the carriage in a position of such that the shifter is backed slightly away from the container. The shifter is then swung upward out of the container path and returned to its starting position. Alternatively a clutch may disengage the motor and crank at dead center and a compression or torsion spring effects backing off of the shifter from the container.

United States Patent 1 1 A 1 11 3,776,345

Dotzauer Dec. 4, 1973 [54] APPARATUS FOR SHIFTING CONTAINERS 3,375,9154/1968 Fouse 198/24 2,535,240 12/1956 Spiller et al.... [75] InventorOswald Dotzauer, "gdstadt, 3,456,814 7/1969 Bautz 198 218 x Germany 1[73] Assignee: Schnbert & Salzer Maschinenfabl'ik PrimaryExaminer-Richard E. Aegerter Ak ng l lngolstadt, AssistantExaminer--D0uglas D. Watts Germany AttorneyRobert W. Beach [22] Filed:Apr. 23, 1971 21 App]. No.: 137,013 ABSTRACT v Rdated s A li ti Data A Acontainer is advanced by an arm or forked shifter [63] Continuation ofSer No 742 828 July 5 1968 guided by a reciprocating carriage or a crankdriven abandoned by amotor. The drive motor is tie-energized with thecarriage in a position of such that the shifter is backed 52 Us. (:1.198/24 Slightly away from the The Shift is [51] Int. Cl.. B65g 47/00swung upward out of h container Path and returned [58] Field of Search198/24 221' its starting Positim- Alternatively clutch may engage themotor and crank at dead center and a [56] References Cited 1 compressionor torsion spring effects backing off of UNITED STATES PATENTS theshifter from the container.

1,839,375 l/ 1932 Covey 198/24 3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PAIENTED DEC41% sum 2 n; 3'

' IN VEN TOR. 06W4LD 1907241162 APPARATUS FOR SHIFTING CONTAINERS Thisis a continuation of US. Pat. Ser. No. 742,828, now abandoned.

Containers are filled with fiber sliver by a continuous fillingoperation, such as shown in the copending US. Pat. application of FritzSchumann and Erich Edler, Ser. No. 689,458, filed Dec. 11,1967, now U.S.Pat. No. 3,613,175 so that a filled container must be shifted away fromthe filling device and an empty container shifted into place rapidly andaccurately. Conventional shifting apparatus includes an arm or a forkedshifter which engages a container topush it from the filling station.Such shifter is then swung upward out of the containerpath and returnedtoits starting position for shifting the next filled container. Becausethe filled sliver containers are large and heavypthe shifter must bepressed firmly against such container to provide a sufficiently largeshifting force. If the container is misshapen, it is difficult to swingthe shifting arm or fork upward without exerting considerable force andwithout danger of tippingthe container.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide shiftingapparatus which can be backed off from engagement with the containerbefore it is swung out of the container path.

Another important object is to provide such appara tus which can readilyand economically be used in modifying conventional shifting apparatus.

arm 6 also will be spaced at least a distance T from the container.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevation of container shifting apparatus ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan of the shifting apparatus in one position and FIG.3 is a similar view showing the apparatus in a different position, partsbeing broken away in both views.

FIG. 4 is a top plan of another type of shifting apparatus to which'thepresent invention may be adapted and FIG. 5 is a similar view with partsin different relation ship. FIG. 6 is a perspective of a detail of FIG.5.

In FIG. 1 a filled container 2 has been shifted from one location at thefiber-sliver-supply station 1 to a second location remote from thestation and an empty container 3 has been shifted into place. A carriage7 carrying shifting arms 6 and 61 is reciprocated by a chain 5 driven-bymotor 4.

As shown in FIG. 2, chain 5 carries a pin 51 which extends into channel71 on the carriage 7 to drive such carriage for reciprocation relativeto the containerfilling station 1. An arm 6 or 61 engages a container 2or 3 at one limiting position and pushes the container forward to theother limiting position. After containers 2 and 3 have been advanced tothe positions shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, conventionally motor 4 isdeenergized with the shifting arms in the position shown in FIG. 2, arm61 being in firm contact with the side of the container. A motor 8 isthen energized to lift arms 6 and 61 by swinging them upward out of thecontainer path. If the container is misshapen, has an irregular sideengaged by arm 61 or is tilted as shown in FIG. 1, arm 61 could be swungupward only if the arm-swinging shaftdeveloped substantial torque andthe container may teeter or tip as the arm is raised. If, however, arm61 is backed away from the container a fractional distance T toward itsfirst limiting position before it is swung upward, such arm can swingfreely. As shown best in FIGS. 2 and 3, arms 6 and 61 embrace thecontainer, but are spaced apart sufficiently so that, when arm 61 isbacked off from container engagement, the

The positions of drive pin 51, corresponding to the positions of arm 61in FIGS. 2 and 3, are indicated in FIG. 1 at I and II, respectively. Asindicated, backing off of arm 61 is effected by overtravel of pin 51beyond the point I of maximum travel. Although such overtravel might beeffected by the inertia of motor 4, its shaft and chain 5 afterde-energization of such motor, it is preferred that such overtravel bepositively controlled. The motor control circuit of conventionalshifting apparatus can be modified for this purpose by changingthe motorcutoff switch in various ways. For example, the drive pin 51 can actuatea limit switch which is located-beyond point I, shown in FIG. 1, in thedirection of chain travel. Alternatively a contact movable with carriage7 mayengage a fixed contact 9 on the carriage frame in which casethecarriage and fixed contacts are of a length to remain in motor-drivingengagement until the carriage moves into its extreme forward position,reverses and moves backward a distance T. One of such contacts might bea brush and the other an elongated contact surface which are slidablyengageable for apredetermined course of the carriage. The motor would bede-energized upon disengagement of the relatively slidable contacts.

When motor 4 is de-energized, motor 8 is simultaneously energized toswing arms 6 and 61 upward out of the container path. Motor 4 is thenre-energized to reverse carriage 7 and return it to its extreme rearwardposition in which forward arms 6 and 61 can be swung downward to embracecontainer 3 and the rearward arms can embrace an empty container. Insuch rearward carriage position, motors 4 and 8 are deenergized so thatthe arms may fall by gravity into their container-embracingrelationship.

The method of backing off a shifting arm or fork can be used with otherforms of container-shifting devices in which the shifting means areswung out of the path along which a container is shifted. Another typeof shifter is shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 in which the containers 21, 31and 32 are advanced in an arcuate path by arms 62 and 63.

The shifting arms are carried by a rotating shaft 64 to which is fixed acrank disk 65. A pin 66 connects one end of a connecting rod 67 to suchdisk. The opposite end of the connecting rod is connected to crankpin 55and is driven by motor 41 through crankshaft 53 and crank arm 54.Referring to FIG. 5, the shifting arms are in container-engagingposition, as shown in full lines, when the crankpin 55 is in dead centerposition I. The arms can be backed off from engagement with theirrespective containers through a distance T by continuing rotation ofcrank 54 until the crankpin is in position II, as indicated in brokenlines in FIG. 5. Arms 62 and 63 can then be lifted freely upward in aknown manner regardless of the container shape or attitude.

Alternatively, motor 41 can be stopped with the crankpin in its deadcenter position I and a compression spring 57, having one end mounted byfixed bracket 56 and the other end engageable by shifting arm 62,presses such arm away from its container when the drive motor isde-energized. Such arm movement will effect rotation of the arm-mountingshaft 64 to swing about the shaft axis simultaneously all of the armscarried by such shaft. In this instance it would be desirable to providea clutch K shown in FIG. 6 between motor 41 and the crankshaft 53 forcrank 54 disengageable by de-energization of the motor control circuitto permit the crank assembly to rotate freely in response to springpressure. Instead of a compression spring 57 a torsion spring could beprovided on arm mounting shaft 64 or on crankshaft 53, for example, toeffect backing off of the shifting arm.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for shifting a container, shifting means for moving sucha container and movable in one direction along a container-moving pathin engagement with the container to a limiting position, the improvementcomprising means guiding movement of such shifting means along suchcontainer-moving path both to such limiting position and reversely awayfrom such limiting position for a short distance sufficient to withdrawthe shifting means from engagement with the moved container, drive meansfor moving the shifting means along such container-moving path in bothdirections, control means for energizing the drive means to advance theshifting means to such limiting position and for de-energizing suchdrive means only after the shifting means has been withdrawn from suchlimiting position sufficiently to be disengaged from the container,means for moving the shifting means after having been disengaged fromthe container generally in a plane disposed transversely of suchcontainer-moving path until the shifting means have been withdrawn fromsuch path, and means for thereafter returning the shifting means to aposition for engaging and moving a succeeding. container.

2. The apparatus defined in claim 4, in which the drive means includes amotor and connecting means connecting said motor and the shifting means,and the control means includes limit switch means engageable by saidconnecting means for deenergizing said motor when the shifting means hasbeen moved reversely away from such limiting position through such shortdistance.

3. The apparatus defined in claim 4, in which the control means includesfixed switch contact means and switch contact means movable with theshifting means, said fixed and movable switch contact means beingrelatively slidably engageable during a predetermined course of theshifting means.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No,3,776,345 Dated December 4. 1973 Inventor(s) Oswald 3012281181 It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Title page, line 4 of Abstract, cancel "of".

.Column 4, line 9 and line 17, cancel "4" and insert -l-.

Signed {1.1K} ales this 23rd day of April 197M.-

(SEAL) Atte at:

EDWARD I'-I.FL.. :IT CHER JR C MARSEZALL DAMN Attest'lng OfficerCommissioner of Patents

1. In apparatus for shifting a container, shifting means for moving sucha container and movable in one direction along a container-moving pathin engagement with the container to a limiting position, the improvementcomprising means guiding movement of such shifting means along suchcontainer-moving path both to such limiting position and reversely awayfrom such limiting position for a short distance sufficient to withdrawthe shifting means from engagement with the moved container, drive meansfor moving the shifting means along such container-moving path in bothdirections, control means for energizing the drive means to advance theshifting means to such limiting position and for de-energizing suchdrive means only after the shifting means has been withdrawn from suchlimiting position sufficiently to be disengaged from the container,means for moving the shifting means after having been disengaged fromthe container generally in a plane disposed transversely of suchcontainer-moving path until the shifting means have been withdrawn fromsuch path, and means for thereafter returning the shifting means to aposition for engaging and moving a succeeding container.
 2. Theapparatus defined in claim 4, in which the drive means includes a motorand connecting means connecting said motor and the shifting means, andthe control means includes limit switch means engageable by saidconnecting means for deenergizing said motor when the shifting means hasbeen moved reversely away from such limiting position through such shortdistance.
 3. The apparatus defined in claim 4, in which the controlmeans includes fixed switch contact means and switch contact meansmovable with the shifting means, said fixed and movable switch contactmeans being relatively slidably engageable during a predetermined courseof the shifting means.